A clean home helps keep bacteria and viruses to a minimum.
If your mom is having a hard time with standard cleaning chores, someone needs to start helping out. In most families, children and grandchildren chip in and get the cleaning tasks done.
What should you be cleaning at your mom’s house? Most people have a limited amount of time and aren’t sure what’s most important. These are the housekeeping chores that need to be done each day, week, and month.
Daily Chores
Clean counters, faucets, faucet handles, and the stove top with a disinfecting cleaner after preparing meals. Wash dishes or place them in the dishwasher. Move dry dishes to cabinets and drawers.
Go through the house and wipe doorknobs, toilet handles, cabinet hardware, remote controls, and phones with a disinfectant wipe. Computer keyboards and mice should also get wiped down to kill germs.
Weekly Chores
Once a week, you should sweep and dry mop tile, wood, linoleum, and laminate floors. Take time to vacuum carpeting. This may need to be done daily if your mom has pets that shed fur regularly.
Strip beds and wash sheets and pillowcases. Make the beds with clean linens. Towels should be done at the same time. Twice a week is best for towels if your parents shower daily.
Scrub any soap film and grime from the bathtub or shower. You should also scrub inside the toilet, the floor around the toilet, and on the outside of the toilet tank and toilet bowl. Use a disinfecting cleaner for all of this.
Go through the fridge and make sure any old leftovers are composted. Wash the containers those foods were in. Keep track of what leftovers your parents aren’t eating and adjust cooking habits as needed.
Monthly Chores
At the start of the month, run a steam mop to sanitize the flooring. You can also use disinfecting cleaner and a regular mop, but you should make sure the floor is dried after to prevent slips.
Clean the oven each month. If it’s especially dirty, run the self-clean cycle. Do the same to the microwave. If you heat a cup of lemon water in a microwave-safe coffee mug and let it sit for a minute, the steam makes it easier to clean.
Remove dust from lampshades, TVs, computers, and other electronics. Run a duster where the ceiling and walls meet to remove any dust webs or spider webs that are forming.
When time is limited, it makes more sense to hire home care aides to help with light housekeeping. Not only is your mom’s house going to be clean and organized, but it also frees up your time so that visits are fun, stress-free times together. Call a home care agency to schedule help with housekeeping.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring a Caregiver in Washington Township, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. 1-800-493-5660
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